Another 25 of November without being able to celebrate – Free Press

Gets the 25 November, International Day of No Violence against Women, and finds us once again immersed in sadness and anger at what is happening in Guatemala, but also willing to continue to work and demanding a life free from violence, equality in rights and opportunities, and transformation of this system in the continuing relations of power based on control and dominion, which leads us to the subordination and discrimination.

although there has been a huge step forward with the approval of legislation that punishes the ‘femicide’, the pregnancies, forced, rapes, and all forms of male violence, this country remains a haven for victimizers of women. The majority of the perpetrators remain without punishment (impunity) and many of the cases don’t even reach the justice system.

It has made a huge effort to build the institutional framework for the rights of women and the social organizations have carried out a tireless work by making visible the problems, accompany victims in the legal process, provide comprehensive care, promote public policies and legislation that allow reversing the inequality, violence, lack of opportunities and the violation of rights. Despite that, this country remains deeply sexist and extremely conservative.

In the 21st century persists the belief that women are objects, property, second class citizens and that our role is restricted to the private sphere, with roles unique as that of maternity and the care of the home. The outrageous numbers of murders of women (so far this year, there are 565 ‘femicide’) or the number of girls and teens raped (January to march 2016 were recorded 687 births to mothers between 10 and 14 years old), or the rejection of the deputies (and some women) to approve electoral reforms that would allow for egalitarian political participation between men and women, are concrete examples that we reflect as a society.

every day, add up to dozens of alerts on the disappearance of young girls, who in many cases are victims of trafficking (48,500 for the purposes of sexual exploitation, according to Unicef) and thousands more suffer labour exploitation or servitude (in the farms, or tortillerías, for example).

it Is clear that despite the fact that there are laws and have been given sentences in cases of violence against women persists a culture that continues to promote anti-values, stereotypes, prejudices, disqualifications and beliefs that keep men in a position of mastery and privilege, and women in a position of submission and subordination, which does not allow them to even decide about their own bodies.

In the family, the school, the church and the means of communication is reinforced in a permanent devaluation of girls and women; those are the areas where the men learn that a woman was hit, was stalked, you are required to silence and service. The same spaces where a child is taught to obey and serve without question, to perform household chores and to keep the "men" of the house to send, because it has to be.

And it is precisely from there that trigger the disparities and begin the violence. The laws are necessary, the application of righteousness; but a must is to attack the underlying causes behind the male domain to truly begin to solve the problem and to eradicate the violence that rob us of the life, dignity and freedom.

@MarielosMonzon